Macro Monday: the feet of the American coot

Today I’m taking part in the Macro Monday photo challenge. If you like what you see, I encourage you to subscribe so you can enjoy the new photos I post a few times a week.

At first sight, the American coot looks like a duck. It’s shaped like a duck, including its head and bill. It spends a lot of time on the water, and it hangs around other ducks. But the American coot is actually a hen, and the dead giveaway is the absence of webbed feet.

Macro Monday: the American coot

Now, if you ask me, this bird looks nothing like a hen, even with non-webbed feet. I’ll let you take a closer look at the feet of the American coot. Technically, they have “lobbed toes”, which allow them to not only swim but also walk well on uneven ground.

Paddle feet / lobbed toes of an American coot

To me, the American coot looks like it has paddle feet so it can be good at swimming and walking. Can you imagine if your toes were shaped like this?